POWAY: City to list Poway Royal Estates for sale

After years of fighting with the city for the right to buy their
park, residents of Poway Royal Estates Mobile Home Park have their
chance.

The city has notified Poway Royal Estates residents that it
intends to sell the mobile home park it has owned since 1991, and
the park's homeowners association met Wednesday to discuss the
prospect of becoming landowners.

"I'd love it," said Pat Palmer, an 18-year resident of the park.
"We've been after this many, many, many years."

Palmer said the Wednesday meeting attracted 40 or 50 people, and
most of them seemed very enthusiastic about the idea of buying the
park on Alpine Drive and Metate Lane.

The homeowners association will poll residents and proceed with
the process if two-thirds of them support the idea, Palmer
said.

If the recent past is any indication, the poll should show
support for buying the park if the price is right.

Price, however, may be an issue. The city rejected the
homeowners association's offer to buy the park in 2007, when it was
assessed at $35 million, and the most recent assessment values the
park at $45 million.

The city bought the 399-space park in 1991 for $21.6 million to
help maintain affordable housing in Poway. Park residents had
requested the buy as a way to stabilize their rents and improve
maintenance.

The relationship between the city and park residents turned sour
within three years. Residents in 1994 sued the city for raising
rents and not making promised improvements, and in 1997 a court
awarded them $390,000 in damages and ordered the city to pay them
$1.3 million in legal fees.

Another lawsuit was filed in 2005 by residents to try to stop
the city's plan to sell the park to Wakeland Housing Development, a
nonprofit housing developer and operator, and to demand the city
sell to them instead.

A judge ruled that the city was not obligated to sell the park
to residents. Wakeland, however, did not pursue buying the
park.

The city then abandoned the idea of selling the park and instead
began plans to refinance the park's long-term bond debt, which
would have obliged it to maintain ownership of the land for at
least five years.

The homeowners association, still hoping to buy the park, again
sued the city, but lost in court and on appeal.

Refinancing the bond still is an option and could save the city
$400,000 to $500,000 annually, but City Attorney Lisa Foster said a
market study showed that the time could be right for the city to
again consider selling the park.

"Strangely, even though real estate isn't great right now, this
particular property is considered a good investment right now," she
said.

The sale would come with some strings, however. Still conscious
of its initial intent to keep housing prices low and maintenance up
at the park, the city is requiring the new owner to limit rent
increases to 1.5 percent annually, with a cap of 5 percent, and
complete $1.8 million in planned improvements to the club house,
irrigation system and other facilities.

Homeowners Association Vice President Peggy Andrews said she
believes park residents still are interested in buying the park.
Polls were left in residents' mailboxes, and Andrews said
volunteers plan to go door to door to ask residents who have not
returned them for their opinions.

"We had a few people sign up last night," she said Thursday,
referring to the homeowners association meeting. "Once they
understand what the whole process is, then I'm sure they will sign
the paper and say yeah, sure, I'd like to buy it."

City staff members plan to hold a series of meetings with
residents from now until Jan. 16, and the park will be formally
listed for sale Feb. 1. Offers to buy the park are due March 1.